Malawi Culture, History & Lakeshore Safari with or without a Zambian Safari
Standard Safaris Standard Safaris are for 15 or 22 days. All available with or without Zambian Safari.
Guests will be met by the Nyasa Lodges vehicle at Lilongwe International Airport. There will be a chance to see parts of the capital city and then drive through some spectacular scenery across the fertile highlands to Dedza which is the highest town in Malawi. Spending one night at the new Dedza Pottery Lodge. In the morning there will be a chance to walk or drive on Dedza mountain, visit some ancient rock paintings and also have a tour of Dedza Pottery. Those that wish can plan to spend 2 nights at Dedza.
After Dedza the tour continues to Mua Cultural Museum down the Golomoti escarpment road with wonderful views over Lake Malawi. Picnic lunch at Mua before driving to Nkhotakota Safari Lodge, visiting Chipoka Harbour on the way. The next few days guests will stay at Nkhotakota where there are options at no extra cost for boat rides, a walking safari in Nkhotakota Game Reserve, a Cultural Tour, watching or working with traditional potters and using any of the facilities at the neighbouring Nkhotakota Pottery. There will be the chance to visit Nkhotakota Town which was once an important staging post on the slave trade route and visitors will be able to see the tree where David Livingstone negotiated with the slave traders, the historic church with the graves of the early missionaries, and there may be the opportunity to hear the famous choir. Many guests are very happy to spend time relaxing on the beautiful beach at the lodge or swimming in the clean waters of Lake Malawi.
Karonga is full of prehistoric and modern history. Volcanoes and earthquakes have brought prehistoric soils to the surface and there are extensive fossil sites around Karonga. Karonga is the site of the earliest hominoid skull ever found pre-dating the finds in Kenya. There is the chance to visit the fossil beds and the site where Malawi’s only dinosaur is being excavated. There is an excellent new museum which is based on the theme “From Dinosaurs to Democracy”, and the museum staff have arranged several tours near to the town taking in many historical sites.
From Karonga drive to Livingstonia Mission, founded by Dr. Robert Laws after he moved from Bandawe and named in honour of David Livingstone. The mission is at the top of another spectacular escarpment road with some of the best views in Southern Africa. The original “Stone House” where Robert Laws lived has been made into an attractive guest house with much of the original furniture. A small museum, complete with lots of sepia photographs gives a very good insight into early mission life. There are also good walks including a visit to the highest waterfall in Malawi.
From Livingstonia you will be driven along the high road that runs down the centre of Malawi, and through forests which are reported to have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien when he was writing “The Lord of the Rings”. At Kasungu, the birthplace of the first President of Malawi, Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda you will see the palace he built but never slept in due to the ghosts he reportedly saw there. You can visit the historic tree under which Dr. Banda had his primary education, and then visit Kamuzu Academy that Dr. Banda opened in 1981 where today students from many countries obtain a quality education equal to the best found anywhere in the world.
Guests who have not chosen the Zambian Safari will return through Nkhotakota Game Reserve to spend more relaxing days at Nkhotakota Safari Lodge before being taken to the airport for their return flight. Those who have chosen the Zambian Safari will proceed from Kasungu to South Luangwa National Park for 3 nights in one of the most outstanding game parks in Africa. After the Safari guests will spend their last night of the trip in Lilongwe at the recently refurbished “Kiboko Hotel” which although quiet is centrally placed for good restaurants, bars and nightclubs. Airport transfers will be provided in the morning.